
Stacks and piles: the cave
Greetings pals,
I’m writing to you from “back in the back”, the man-cave, as it were. Another room in this little house where the chaos is gradually being tamed. Only to be thrown back into its prior condition, ’cause sh*t happens. I could spend all day every day being my own librarian/archivist/janitor, but hey, that’s no way to live! There are guitars to play, songs to write, records to make, books to write, and read. And don’t forget that starting fights on Facebook is always good use of one’s time . . . .
This just in: Check out Michael Ross‘s article in Guitar Player on Joe V. McMahan and me—
https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/percolating-guitars
Next week I’m back on the highway, headed to familiar ground–the great state of Iowa! With a return stop in St. Louis. Check the tour page and venue sites for details, but here’s the skinny:
Friday 10/12 CSPS Cedar Rapids, IA 7 pm
Saturday 10/13 Pearson Lakes Arts Center Okoboji, IA (workshop and in-the-round performance)
Sunday 10/14 Byron’s Pomeroy, IA 5 pm (co-bill w/Todd Partridge)
Wednesday 10/17 Off Broadway St. Louis (opening for Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis!)
We’ve just added a few new shows to the calendar, so check ’em out.
Mountain Stage: Our Mountain Stage performance from late July just premiered at NPR last week! Here’s a photo from the show:

Brian Blauer/Mountain Stage
If you’ve missed it via your local station, you can hear the entire show (including songs cut for time from the radio broadcast) as a podcast:
https://www.mountainstage.org/archives/Pages/playlist.aspx?playlistid=155
Vinyl progress: Thanks to all of you who’ve pre-ordered the vinyl edition of Tilt and Shine, via your sponsorship or the recently added Bandcamp pre-order option. At last, the test pressings have been approved, and the project is in production! Look for availability around mid-November. Not in on it yet? Check it out here–just scroll down a bit, and select the vinyl pre-order option; you’ll immediately have access to a download of the album, in a variety of file formats.
Sponsors: Thank you for your continued patience, especially concerning the aforementioned vinyl, and hand-written lyrics, and book. Please know that I am getting what I can out to you as soon as possible. I don’t want to just scribble out the lyrics–I want them to be legible, and look good. So: it takes a while. Call me a perfectionist, or whatever. I’m getting there . . . .

Country music enthusiast found backstage in Austin
Thanks to all who came out and heard us last week on our southern mega-miles mini-tour, in North Little Rock, Baton Rouge, Houston, and Austin. I deeply appreciate your support! We had some good food along the way, including a visit to the famous Best Stop Supermarket in Scott, LA; Black’s Barbecue in Lockhart, TX; and one of my forever favorites, Sims BBQ in Little Rock. This week’s kitchen keywords are: Kale. Brown rice. Vegetables. The show in N. Little Rock, part of the Potluck and Poison Ivy Series at The Joint, was an interesting change from the normal plug-in-and-rock routine. In between songs, I talked about songwriting; I read a couple of poems by James Wright, whose work is a deep and steady influence on me; I read a prose poem/journal entry of mine from many years back, that came out of a visit to north LA where I went fishing with my grandfather. I didn’t catch a single fish, but I got at least three songs out of the deal, and some great stories. He just turned 90. Quite a man.
I just finished reading Behold the Dreamers, by Imbolo Mbue; her first novel. Enjoyed it. A close look at the issues facing an immigrant couple from Cameroon when the 2008 recession hit. What’s next? I haven’t decided.
VOTE: Most importantly–to my fellow Americans: Are you registered to vote? Even if you think you are, make sure, and make your vote count in November. While it seems impossible to change the minds of certain rut-stuck knuckleheads currently in power, we can at least vote them out and work for better. Because we as a nation deserve better than senseless, crazy, and corrupt.
Have a great weekend!
Love,
Kevin
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